Topics

The International Monetary Fund sharply lowered its U.S. growth projection for the year and issued a cautionary note to investors: Don't be too confident about interest rates. Like others in the economic forecasting business, the IMF downgraded its U.S. outlook Monday after first-quarter activity was hammered by harsh winter weather in much of the nation. Including that poor start, the fund now estimates the American economy to grow a modest 2% overall this year, down from its April projection of 2.8%. The IMF's managing director, Christine Lagarde, stressed that the weakness was temporary and that the U.S. economy was now gaining momentum. The Federal Reserve, for instance,...

Related "Credit Ratings" Articles

The International Monetary Fund sharply lowered its U.S. growth projection for the year and issued a cautionary note to investors: Don't be too confident about interest rates.Like others in the economic forecasting business, the IMF downgraded its U.S....

No. 1 mortgage lender Wells Fargo & Co. kicked off the bank earnings season with a 3.8% increase in profit in a report that sent modestly positive signals about Main Street lending and the housing market.
Wells Fargo had second-quarter net income...

Health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. is changing its corporate name to Anthem, the well-known brand it uses in California and other states.
The makeover comes as health insurers increasingly compete for individual consumers on government-run exchanges...

Despite the economic rebound and sharp drop in the unemployment rate recently, Federal Reserve officials still see considerable weakness in the labor market and remain very cautious about moving away from their easy-money policy.
The Fed, in a...

The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high Wednesday as investors wagered that the economy will pick up steam in the second half of the year.
The blue-chip indicator rose for the third time this week, with Wednesday's 45-point gain being just...

Priced out of much of Los Angeles, young professionals are zeroing on several neighborhoods around USC and to the west, as the expanding Expo light rail line delivers new residents to the area.
Communities such as Jefferson Park, Leimert Park and West...

WASHINGTON — Sign-ups for insurance through President Obama's health law varied widely across the country in the first year for the online marketplaces, according to a government report released Thursday that shows consumers flocked to coverage in some...

A credit rating service gave an unfavorable review this week to a recently released proposal for reworking oversight of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Moody’s Investors Service said the Los Angeles 2020 Commission’s recommendation for...

WASHINGTON — The name itself conjures up images of ATMs: cash-outs.
You may associate the term "cash-out refinancing" with the frothy and dangerous days of the real estate boom, when some owners turned their hyper-inflating houses into money...

Southern California home prices are surging as the spring buying season heats up, with the median price in March hitting $400,000 for the first time in six years.
But a deeper look at the market reveals a recovery divided between the rich and everyone...

Mortgage rates have fallen as the spring home-buying season begins, with Freddie Mac pegging the average 30-year fixed loan at 4.27% this week, the lowest it has been since early February.
The average for a 15-year fixed mortgage was 3.33% this week,...

If you're on your way to or from the sun-baked Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this weekend and get the urge to become a hotel owner, you may be in luck -- as long as you have at least $10,000 to spend.
Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs is...

Re "Home prices surge, sales plunge," April 16
The remedy to working people being priced out of the housing market is to reform property taxes to protect residential property and, especially, homes owned by those who actually live in them.
...

California's immigrant-heavy economy looks strong through the lens of regional bank results, with two of Los Angeles' many Asian American banks near the top of analysts' national lists of bank stocks that investors should buy.
According to financial...

WASHINGTON — After more than four years and 20 rounds of negotiations, the world's biggest free-trade deal in a generation has come down in good part to this: the United States and Japan squabbling over beef.
With President Obama due to arrive...

Two of Los Angeles' many Asian American banks ranked near the top of analysts' national lists of bank stocks that investors should buy, a signal of economic strength in local immigrant communities.
Financial information provider SNL Financial ranked BBCN...

Boosted by strong sales in its first financial quarter, Boeing Co. beat analysts’ estimates largely due to an increased production rate of commercial jetliners.
The Chicago aerospace giant reported a profit of $965 million, or $1.28 a share. That’s...

Boosted by strong sales, Boeing Co. beat analysts' estimates for its first quarter largely because of faster production of commercial jetliners.
The Chicago aerospace giant reported a profit of $965 million, or $1.28 a share. That's down 12.7% from $1.11...

Over the last six years, roaring bears and raging bulls both have had their turns to be right about financial markets.
But investing success in the next market phase could be far more about pinpointing individual opportunities than riding a wave.
This...

CVS Caremark Corp., the country's second-largest pharmacy chain, has agreed to pay $20 million to settle charges that it misled investors and used improper accounting techniques to artificially boost its financial earnings, the U.S. Securities and...